Snow removing machine



Feb. 19, 1957 A. s. MOKEE 2,781,592

. snow REMOVING MACHINE.

Filed Dec. 9, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. AB/VER S. MEKEE ATTORNEYA. s. MOKEE 2,781,592

SNOW REMOVING MACHINE Feb. 19, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 9, 1953IIIIIIIIJIIIEZIIIQE EDI-2:1 :3:

4 INVENTOR. ABA/ER 5. Mil/(E5 A T TORWE Y United States Patent Office ,72,781,592 Patented Feb. 19, 1957 SNOW REMOVING MACHINE Abner S. McKee,Paonia, Colo., assignor of one-half to David J. McKee, Denver, Colo.

This invention relates to snow removing machines and particularly tosuch a machine that is constructed and designed for clearing streets andhighways.

One of the objects of my invention is to produce a mobile machine whichcan be moved on a street or highway and remove snow therefrom and thensubsequently cause such to be melted and discharged as water to the sideof the highway or street where it can flow away.

Another object of my invention is to produce a snow removing machinewhich will have a high capacity for melting picked up snow and willaccomplish the melting without the necessity of any pulverizing' Yetanother object is to produce a snow removing machine employing a hollowrotating drum member so constructed that it can exteriorly pick up thesnow and cause it to be melted by high heat from the interior of thedrum as the drum rotates.

A further object is to produce a snow removing machine of the drum typeabove referred to which will be provided with a surrounding casingstructure which can be adjusted to control the amount of snow movingonto the drum to be melted.

A still further object is ,to produce an improved snow melting structureemploying a rotating drum having exterior trough-like means for carryingthe snow and high heat producing means for the inside of the drum forcausing rapid melting while the drum is rotating, together with meansfor removing heating and exhaust gases and vapors from the interior ofthe drum in a manner to increase the rapidity of the melting operationand means for removing the water created by themelting.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side view of a snow removing machine embodying myinvention and being particularly constructed for use on streets andhighways, said view having some parts broken away and tion in order toshow details;

Figure 2 is a top view of the base frame structure of the burner andmelting section of the machine with the rotating drum and surroundingcasing being shown in longitudinal cross section at d-rum axis;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3- 3 of Figure 2 showingan end bearing for the drum and the drive therefor;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the snow pick-up blade on thedrum; and

Figure 5 is a front view of a part of the blade and drum showing theadjustable blade for the exhaust slot in the drum.

Referring to the drawings in detail and first to Figures 1. and 2, myimproved snow removing machine, as disclosed by way of example,comprises a frame generally designated by the letter F which is made upof two spaced apart side structures and 11 connected together at theirrear by a cross frame structure 12. The front end 7 others shown in sec-1 of the side frame structure 10 is anannular support34 of this frame isunobstructed so that snow can readily pass into the space between thetwo side frame structures as the machine is moved forwardly on a street,highway or other surface desired to be cleaned of snow. At the forwardend of the side frame structure 10 is a wheel 13 and a like wheel 14 iscarried at the forward end of the other side frame structure 11. Both ofthese wheels have a short axle structure suitably mounted in the sideframe structure so there will not be any cross axle for interfering withmovement of snow into themachine. At the rear of the frame are mountedtwo other wheels 15'and 16 carried on the ends of an axle 17 frame andis suitably supported by the rear ends of the two side frame structures10 and 11. With these four wheels the machine can be readily moved downa highway or any other surface from which it is desired to remove snow.The forward end of the two side frame members 10 and 11 also carryadjustable wings indicated at 18 and 19, which thus provide suitablechute means to assist in guiding the snow to be removed into the machinebetween the two side frame structures.

A very important feature of my snow removing machine resides in the useof a rotating heated drum D which is mounted for rotation between thetwo side frame structures 10 and 11 of the machine. This drum is hollowand of special construction and surrounding the drum is a casingstructure, generally indicated by the letter C and having two parts 20and 21, the former being a stationary casing part and the latter amovable casing part, the purpose of which will become apparent. The hollow drum D has a corrugated surface to form alternate valleys 22 andridges 23, both extending axially of the drum. Each ridge has mountedthereon a blade 24 which, in the form shown, is so curved that its outeredge'will extend in the direction of rotation of the drum indicated bythe arrow in Figure 1.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the curved blades are arranged to bedetachable, so in the event they become worn or broken they can bereplaced. A suitable arrangement for making the attachment comprises anelongated plate member 25 welded or. otherwise secured to each ridgepart of the drum and so constructed as to have an outwardly extendingrib 26. The blade will be.

Just forward of eachblade and between said blade and the bottom of thevalley ahead of the blade, the drum is provided with a plurality oflongitudinally aligned openings or slots 30 which will permit heat andexhaust gases from burned fuel to pass out of the interior of the druminto the valleys where snow will have become positioned as the drumrotates and the machine moves forwardly on its wheels. It may bedesirable to vary the heat passing through the slots in the drum and toac-. complish this there can be provided an adjustable plate 31 carriedon the surface of the drum adjacent the aligned slots. Each plate willbe provided with av plurality of cross slots 32 (see FigureS) and a studbolt 33 will extend through each slot into the drum wall to clamp theplate tightly onto the drum surface. 7 If the slots 30 are desired to bevaried, all that needs to be done is loosen the holding bolts 33 for theplate and move this plate toward or awayfrom the slots to decrease orincrease their area of opening as desired.

As best seen in Figure 2, the drumtis supported in suitable bearings ateach of its ends. Fixed on the inside having a conical inner surface anda cylindrical outer surface. A like support is carried by the inside ofthe other side frame structure 11. The drum is closed at its oppositeends by plates 36 and 37, with these plates hav ing suitable annularflanges which, will receive, bearings 383C? as to journal'the ends oftlie drum onthe two end support members 34 and 35.

ith this mounting of the drum ends by. means of annular supports, it is.possiblet o supply heat in large volumes and at high temperaturestdtheinside of the drum to accomplish melting of "snow which has been pickedup by the blades as the drum rotates in the direction of the arrow ofFigure l and the machine moves forwardly so that snow; will be fedto thedrum in a continuous manner. The heat will be furnished by burners B,there being one attached to each side framestructure at the outer end ofthe" annular supports. The burners maybe of any suitable type, but arepreferably of a forced draft type whereby the heat fromthe burners willbe causedto flow rapidly through the annular supports 34-a'nd? 35intothe,interiorof the drum. Fuel is supplied'to the burners through.conduits 39 and forced air will be supplied to the burners through theconduits 40, these conduits being suitably connected to a blower whichis indicated at 41' and mounted adjacent the rear of the machine asshowninFigure 2.

The blower is shown as being drivenby a cross driving'shaft'42 journaledon the frame, and driven by a suitable engine 43, This driving shaft 42is also arranged to drive an electric generator 44 to supply electricityto the machine to perform some of the operations. The shaft 42 alsodrives an hydraulic pump 45 which will supply hydraulic pressure toperform certain-other operations which will be later referred to. Theengine 43 n ot only furnishes a drive for all the equipment, but alsoisemployed to rotate the drum D of the snow remover. This is accomplishedby providing on one end of the shaft 42 a sprocket 46and connecting thissprocket to a sprocket 47 which will be secured to theendclosure plate37 of the drum, the connection being accomplished by a sprocket chain.48. i l

The casing C surroundingthe drum isfemployed to confine theheat so itwill be eifective upon the drum surface and a body of hot surroundingairwilllbe present, partofthisair being heated, bytransfer ofheat directlythrough the walls of the drum and other. heat being.

furnished by hot gases escaping through the numerous V slots 30 inthedru'm, wall. Thestationary part.20. 0f the casingj'enclosesapproximately the. r'earQone-half .of the; and the movable section. 21covers a. major poitionpfithe forwardpart of thejdrum. The;rear. sectionalong its lower edge, which is substantially vertical below the drum,carries a trough 49 (see Figure: l) which will extend the whole length.of the drum and be inclined towardone end of the casing in order thatwater from melted snow running down the interior wall of thecasingsectionjtlfwill be collectedandcausedto flow to one end of thetrough, whereby a conduit 50 will"convey the water rearwardly andoutwardly. to one side for disposal. The forward movable section 21 ofthe casing extends downwardly over the drum to a point below the frontpart of the drum, thus leaving an opening 51 through which snow can becaused to be fedinto the casing whereby it will be pick ed'up by therotatingblades of the drum and then under the action. of theQhigh heatcausedlto be melted. a

As bestshown in Figure 1, there is aheadof the easing andsuitablycarried by the frame structure.,an,inclined scraper 52 extending acrossthe machine between the two side frame structures. The forwarclendof thescraper is arranged to be closely positioned to the highway surface tobe cleaned. With this, inclined scraper it will be seen that as themachine moves forwardly, the front'edge of the scraper moves beneath thesnow. on the surface and causes it. to be conveyed upwardly to. thescrapers rear edge, which will be positioned closely 7 moving thetractor.

adjacent the path of rotation of the outer ends of the curved blades asthe drum rotates. Thus, snow moving over the rear edge of the scraperwill be picked up by the curved blades and as the blades continue tomove upwardly and around with the drum to the rear side, heat which ispresent in the casing and also heat from the highly heated walls of thedrum will cause the snow to slide into the valleys and be melted. Themelting will take place during the time the drum moves from a pointwhere a blade picksup a body of snow to a point where the bladereachesthe lower rear edge of the fixed rear section 20 of the casing whichcarries the runoff trough. The snow pickup blade is arranged to beadjusted with respect to, the highway surface being cleaned and this isshown as being accomplished by an electric reversing motor 53 having asmall reel 54 on its shaft, said reel being connected by a cable 55 tothe scraper. This motor will be suitably controlled by the operator ofthe machine and merely by causing the motor to rotate in either onedirection or the other, the blade can be raised or lowered as desired.

Some snow being picked up by the blades otfthe rear cndofthesnow pickupscraper no doubt will fall, on the exterior surface of the movablesection 21 of the casing and become melted. To carry off this resultingwater, the lower edge of the. movable blade section 21 can also beprovided with a longitudinally extending trough 56 having only a smallangle of slope whereby the water can be conveyed into the disposalconduit 50 to which one of its ends can be connected.

The movable section 21 of the casing is arranged, as shown in Figures 1and 2, to have its upper ends supported by suitable rollers on theforward upper end of the fixed casing section 20 and the ends of themovable section 21 will be supported upon fixed end closure walls 57 and58 .for the casing. This support arrangement is such as to permit theforward section to be movable thereon to vary the opening through whichthe snow moves into the casing by way of the inclined scraper 52. Asuitable way of accomplishing. the moving of the forward section 21' isbyan electric motor 59 mounted upon a superstructure 60 of the machine.The shaft ofjhis motor will have a reel 61 and from this drum to themovable section of the casing there will be provided a cable connectionv62. The motor 59 will be of the reversing type, the same asthe. motor53 for controlling the scraper, and this motor will be controlled ,bythe operator. in his cab by suitable switches. Electric power for themotor will be supplied through the generator 44 already referred to.

Provision is also made on the machine for raising and.

lowering its front end relative to the highway surface when such isfound desirable. The front wheels 13 and 14 will be spring mounted tothe frame by large coil spring 63 and-associated ,with these springs isan hydraulic device having a piston 64 engaging one end of the springand arranged tomove'in a chamber 65. This chamber can have hydraulicfluid under pressure supplied or removed therefrom through the line 66.The source of hydraulic pressure is provided by the hydraulic pump 45already referred to. Tocontrol, the. hydraulic pressure to and from thechamber. 65, suitable operator control valves (not shown) will beprovided.

The snow removing machine just described is arranged to be pushed by atractor T shown in Figure l, which may be of anysuitable construgtion.This tractor will havewheels, as shown, and be provided with anengine-for be arranged to be coupled to the rear end of the frame -F ofthesnow removing machine. by any suitable coupling 67. The, operatorscab 68for the tractorand snow machine. will be positioned. atxahighpoint thereonso the operator can look forwardly across the top ofthessnown melting drum andsee the road ahead of the, snow removingrnachine. In this cabwiltbe all the necessarycom,

The front end of this tractor will trols for the snow removing machine,that is, the controls for the two reversing motors 53 and 59 and thehydraulic valves for controlling the raising and lowering of the forwardend of the snow machine. Also in this tractor will be provided asteering control which will extend forwardly by means of a steeringcolumn 69 to a steering gear 70 at the front of the snow removingmachine and mounted on its upper structure. From this gear there will bea shaft 71 by means of which the two front wheels 13 and 14 can besteered. The steering column 69 will be made so it can be dividedwhenever it is desired to disconnect the tractor from the snow removingmachine. The tractor will also carry a large storage tank 72 forfurnishing fuel to the burners for supplying heat to the interior of thedrum. All connecting structure such as electric cables, conduits, etc.between the tractor and snow machine will be provided with suitableconnecting joints so that uncoupling of the tractor and machine can beaccomplished if desired.

The operation of my improved snow removing machine is believed to beobvious from the foregoing detailed description of structure embodyingthe invention. Briefly described, however, this operation consists ofdriving the drum from the engine 43 at a desired slow speed, this speedbeing determined by the amount of snow which is going to be melted andthe rate of forward movement of the machine on the highway. The burnerswill be set in operation before the machine moves so that required heatwill be generated inside the drum and outside the drum but within thecasing. When the machine is heated properly it can be caused to moveforwardly and by proper regulation of the height of the snow machine andthe pickup scraper, snow will be fed into the casing and picked up bythe blades on the drum as the drum rotates in the direction of the arrowof Figure l. The amount of incoming snow will be regulated by themovement of the movable casing section 21, which will be set inaccordance with the speed of rotation of the drum and the rate offorward movement of the machine. As the snow is picked off the inner endof the scraper by the blades 24 on the drum, the snow will immediatelybegin to melt by the high heat to which it is subjected. If any snow orwater, during the melting, should go into the interior of the drumthrough the slots 30, it will immediately be changed to steam and thenforced out again through the slots by movement of air and gases. Thedrum will be rotating slowly and the machine will move forward slowly.By the time the drum has caused a blade to move from a point where itpicks up snow to a point closely adjacent the trough 49, all the snowwill be melted and the resulting water will run into the trough 49 whereit can be conveyed by the discharge conduit 50 to a point at the side ofthe highway. The two burners will be of such size and capacity as tomaintain a very high temperature, as for example, about 900 degrees F.,within the drum and at the drum walls. If the drum has approximatelyfeet in diameter, then with this high heat snow can be cleaned from ahighway and changed to water at a fairly rapid rate. Of course, the ratewill vary, depending upon the depth of snow to be removed and otherfactors. However, it is estimated that on an average depth of snow onthe highway, the snow removing machine can be caused to move and clearsame at a rate of about one to one and one-half miles per hour. Ofcourse, if the snow is light, the machine can be moved faster than this.Throughout the specification and claims my machine is referred to as asnow removing machine, but it is obvious that it also will melt any icethat can be picked up and caused to be placed on the drum.

I am aware of the possibility of many modifications in the machinedisclosed by way of example and also many changes in structure anddevices involved to accomplish my improved results, all withoutdeparting from the fundamental principles of my invention, and thereforeI desire it to be understood that the scope of my invention is not to belimited except in accordance with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a snow removing machine, a wheeled frame sttucture for movement ona surface, a hollow member forming a drum rotatably mounted on the framestructure and constructed to have circumferentially spaced outwardlyprojecting blades on its surface extending longitudinally thereof, acasing of substantial cylindrical configuration surrounding asubstantial and major part of the hollow member and spaced therefrom toprovide an annular passage for snow, said casing having a snow receivingopening, means for rotating the hollow member relative to the casing ina direction to have the blades move from the front of the drum over thetop to the back, means for causing the blades on the front side of thedrum to pick up snow as the machine is moved forward, means formaintaining a high temperature within the hollow member to thereby meltthe snow picked up by each blade as the hollow member rotates to movethe blade from front to back, said hollow member being provided with aplurality of openings in its wall between said blades to permit theescapeof gases and vapors from the interior of the hollow member andcontact with the snow picked up by the blades, and means for varying thesize of each opening.

2. The snow machine of claim 1 wherein the drum has an exteriorcorrugated surface with the ridges and furrows extending in thelongitudinal direction of the drum and the blades are curved to havetheir edges extending in the direction of drum rotation and are mountedon the ridges.

3. The snow machine of claim 2 wherein the hollow member extendstransversely of the frame and the member is journaled in annularsupports provided with enlarged conical openings communicating withopenings in the member whereby large volumes of heat in the form ofgases and vapors may be supplied to the interior of the hollow member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS155,007 Churchman Sept. 15, 1874 343,353 Wright June 8, 1886 1,469,046McDonald Sept. 25, 1923 1,529,147 Snook Mar. 10, 1925 2,387,959Wandscheer Oct. 30, 1945

